Chapter 123: The Teacher's Fiancée

“I am so sorry for the trouble…”

“No, no. I don’t quite understand what happened, but as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up…”

I bowed deeply to Viscount Canon. By making a scene, I had thrown a wet blanket over a fun party. I felt truly apologetic about that.

“My apologies to Jeremy-sensei as well…”

“U-Umm… I don’t really get it either, but well, if you understand now…”

I bowed my head to Jeremy-sensei too. No, I actually don’t understand it yet at all!

I still couldn’t believe this frivolous playboy was the suave, cool Jeremy-sensei. Where did my oshi (favorite character) go?

After apologizing to the two of them, I received a scolding from Father and Mother. I then sat quietly on a sofa against the wall, striking the pose of “The Thinker.”

The Jeremy-sensei from the game and the current Jeremy-sensei seemed like completely different people. I highly doubt it, but could the punchline be that Jeremy-sensei is a reincarnator too?

The game starts ten years from now… Is there an event before then that changes his personality a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees………… Ah!?

“Could it be that storyline…!”

I remembered.

Jeremy-sensei, a capture target in Starlight Symphony, had a backstory: he lost his fiancée in the past and still carries those lingering feelings.

As long as he holds onto those feelings for her, he won’t fall for the protagonist, Estelle. The key to capturing his route is the event where he severs his attachment to his fiancée and his past regrets.

Could the death of that fiancée be the catalyst that changed him…?

If so, that fiancée isn’t dead yet…

…Eh? Wait a minute, wait just a minute.

Does that mean if his fiancée doesn’t die, he won’t become the Jeremy-sensei from the game!?

“Seriously…?”

What do I do…? If I act now, I might be able to prevent his fiancée’s death and change fate. But if I do that, the Jeremy-sensei who is my oshi will never appear…?

I can’t just… leave her to die, can I…?

That being said, I don’t really remember the exact circumstances of how she dies. It’s not like the game gave a minutely detailed explanation.

However… I do remember the line: “I didn’t make it in time. If I had just hurried a little more…”

Does that mean it was an incident or accident that could have been prevented, but he just “didn’t make it in time”?

For example, maybe they planned to meet somewhere for a date. But because Jeremy-sensei was late, the fiancée got mad and tried to head home. And on her way back, she was killed by a random slasher… or something?

Or maybe a flower pot fell from above toward his fiancée, and Jeremy-sensei tried to shield her but didn’t make it in time… or something?

I could come up with endless scenarios like that. But how am I supposed to prevent something when I don’t know what it is…?

Can’t I remember anything else? Even though I was obsessed with the game, dragging out memories from middle school is pretty difficult. Since Jeremy-sensei is a character from the first game, those memories are the oldest.

I played it a lot, but I wasn’t at the level of a maniac or a freak… I was a casual player, not hardcore. If I were hardcore, I would have cleared that arrogant prince’s route too.

“Grrrrrrrr…!”

“Lady Sakuraile? Umm, your face is…”

Prompted by Estelle, I dropped my scowl.

No good, no good, I need to stay calm here.

I stole a glance at Jeremy-sensei, who was mingling with the guests at the party venue.

He seemed quite adept at socializing and knew exactly how to entertain the person he was talking to. Laughing, joking around, he was livening up the room with his witty conversation.

Wrong! Jeremy-sensei is supposed to carry a much quieter, calmer atmosphere. He’s supposed to have the stance of a good listener who offers earnest, precise advice! This interpretation is completely wrong!

Isn’t there some way I can turn that into the Jeremy-sensei I idolize…? For that to happen, his fiancée has to die… Right, I could fake her death and have her go far away… Idiot, idiot, idiot! What are you thinking! Wishing for someone’s misfortune makes you the worst scum!

“Haa… I guess I’ll just give up…”

My oshi Jeremy-sensei is dead… He was nothing but a fleeting illusion after all…

“I-I knew it, that really was the case…”

“Hm?”

I looked to my side to see Estelle looking at me with a pale face. What is it?

“I thought… I thought it might be the case, but Lady Sakuraile… you’ve fallen in love with that frivolous Viscount’s second son…!”

“Huh?”

Estelle pressed a trembling hand over her mouth. Huh? Isn’t she misunderstanding something? Wait, I guess she isn’t entirely wrong…?

“Kuh…! Just when I thought the nuisance Elliott was out of the picture, an ambush from a place like this…! I, Estelle Klein Euphonium, have made the blunder of a lifetime!”

I don’t know why, but Estelle was looking incredibly frustrated. What in the world is wrong with her? First of all, let’s stop biting the handkerchief, okay? You’re going to tear it.

While I was standing there troubled, wondering what to do, Jeremy-sensei had made his way over to us before I knew it.

“Umm, Lady Estelle, are you feeling alright? If you’re feeling unwell…”

“I feel terrible!”

“…You look pretty energetic for someone who feels terrible. Wait a minute, now it’s this kid!?”

Estelle was flexing her fingers, looking as if she were ready to pounce on Jeremy-sensei at any moment. She looked exactly like a cat on high alert. I could practically see the Hiss! sound effect floating behind her.

The real cat… I mean, tiger, Kohaku-san, was curled up next to me, acting as if this had nothing to do with him.

I don’t know what’s going on, but Estelle is kind of going on a rampage…

“Did I do something to you kids…?”

“No, um… this is an issue on our end… Hahaha. Oh, Jeremy-sensei, you work as a teacher at the ‘Academy’, right?”

“Hm? Oh, did you hear? Yeah, I do. I took a teaching position at the ‘Academy’ starting this year. Though I’m still basically just a trainee.”

So he is already a teacher. It seems he isn’t allowed to take charge of his own classes yet, though. He’s probably assisting the senior teachers.

“Even so, it keeps me pretty busy. I hardly ever get the chance to see my fiancée, so—”

“You have a fiancée!?”

At those words, Estelle’s eyes flew wide open and she shot up from her chair.

“Eh, yes… I do, but…”

Estelle thrust her fist into the heavens, trembling all over. No, seriously, what is wrong with this girl… She’s way too emotionally unstable.

Starting to get a little worried about my friend, I felt Estelle grip my hand tightly. Why is she looking at me with such gentle eyes…?

“Lady Sakuraile. I know it must be painful, but this too is just one page coloring your life. Please don’t let it get you too down, alright?”

“No, seriously, what are you talking about…?”

I already knew from the start that Jeremy-sensei had a fiancée. The problem on my end is that I’m completely at a loss on how to protect her. Well, it’s not like I can tell her that, though.

Anyway, let’s change the subject.

“Umm, what kind of person is your fiancée, Jeremy-sensei?”

“Eh? Oh? You haven’t heard? I totally assumed…”

“Huh?”

“Jeremy! Why are you bothering Lady Sakuraile! You haven’t been saying anything weird, have you!?”

As I stood there looking blank, a woman in a dress with her eyes sharply angled upwards marched briskly over from behind Jeremy-sensei.

Her hair was styled up, and she was wearing different makeup than usual, but to Estelle and me, she was someone we knew very well.

“”Pamela-sensei!?””

The person glaring at Jeremy with her hands on her hips was none other than our music teacher, Pamela Etude herself.

“Since neither you nor I are nobles anymore, I told you we have to draw a proper line, didn’t I?”

“I know, I know. You’re strict as always, Pamela…”

Listening to their casual banter, an exclamation mark ‘!’ popped into my head as a realization struck me.

“Could it be… Jeremy-sensei’s fiancée is Pamela-sensei…!?”

“Eh? Oh, yes, that’s right. I’ve been close with the Canon Viscount House, and Jeremy and I have been together since we were little. We just naturally ended up engaged. I figured, well, he’ll do.”

“Isn’t your treatment of me a bit harsh?”

Jeremy-sensei complained to Pamela-sensei with a wry smile.

Eh, wait a minute…! Does that mean the fiancée who dies is Pamela-sensei!?

You’ve got to be kidding me…!

This was something I absolutely could not overlook. The level of importance in my heart is completely different between a total stranger and a beloved mentor who has taken such good care of me.

It’s not that I think it’s okay for someone to die just because they’re a stranger, and I originally intended to save her for Jeremy-sensei’s sake anyway, but now I absolutely have to save her.

What should I do…? Wait, when exactly did the fiancée… Pamela-sensei, pass away?

If I recall… there was a line where he said, “I haven’t been back to my family home in over ten years.” It was a conversation with Estelle, who was getting homesick right after enrolling.

Over ten years means… Jeremy-sensei never returns home a single time after this current visit.

And judging from the line “If I had just hurried a little more”, it means Jeremy-sensei was somewhere close to Pamela-sensei when it happened, right?

If he were at the ‘Academy’, I don’t think he would say “If I had just hurried a little more”. Apparently, it takes special procedures to use the teleportation gate connected to the ‘Academy’. Wouldn’t he say something more like, “If I had noticed sooner” or “If I had acted faster”?

It happens when he is in the Royal Capital, at a distance where he can easily meet Pamela-sensei. Plus, he makes the “I haven’t been back in over ten years” comment not long after the spring entrance ceremony.

Which means… Pamela-sensei dies this winter during this visit home…!

Gaaaaaaah! Again!? Why do these incidents always happen with such split-second timing!?

Is this what the Goddesses meant when they talked about my “misfortune constitution”…?